National Republican., 1887-12-09
VIRGINIA REPUBLICANS.
with Cordial Recognition rhey Can
Garry the State.

WASHINGTON, ID. O., Dec. 8, 1887.
To Hon. B. F. JONES, Chairman National
Republican Commlttee-,Sir: The under
signed, speaking for the Republican party
of Virginia, respectfully lay before you the
following statement, which they believe to
be worthy OF your very serious attention
Under the old management Of It's for
tunes the Republican party Of Virginia was
so badly beaten In 1S76-so dishesrtened
and demorallzed-that In 1877 It put no
ticket in the field at all, although gov.
ernor, lieutenant governor, attorney gen
eral and legislature were TO be chosen. In
1873 the chairman of Its state executive
committee united with extreme Bourbons
in an effort TO organize a new party, be-
coming q member Of the state committee
OF the new organization proposed, and sigu-
ing bis name TO the address issued in its
behalf. Local issues, which had been
steadily at work to that end
ever since reconstruction, resulted early
In 1870 in the disruption OF the Virginia
Democracy, then known as the Conserva.
tive party, and the practically dsbanded
| Republicans rallied to one or the other OF
the contendiDg factions--the Republican
rank and file going In a body TO the re-.
volters, led BY Gen. VIM. Malone, while,
with few honorable exceptions, the
| Oillciality Of the moribund or defunct Re
| publican organization, together with the
federal offlceholders In the state, took
service with the extreme Bourbons under
the o-called Conservative flag. In the
struggle which ensued for control OF the
state, President Hayes and his admnlstra-
tion, the National Republican Committee,
with the Republican press In and out OF
Virginia, adhered to the ancient Bourbon
ola thatr "A
nevertheless, the Republican masses In our
Commonwealth, with unerrlng instinct,
stood shoulder TO shoulder for the m ,re
liberal movement, and the result was a
crushing defeat for Virginia Bourbonism IN
1870. We need not detail all the blessed
reforms that followed: yet we cannot re
frain from naming the redemption Of free
education, the restoration OF free suffrage,
and the revival of the national spirit Of
American citizenship as few am jug the
many benefits arising from Bourbon over.
throw and the Inauguration OF a more lib.
| eral regime.
To oil intents and purposes, practically
the rev and triumphant combination thus
mastering, the field was the Republican
patty OF Virginia, and so recognized, not
only by It's Democratic Bourbon enemies,
but by the overwhelming sentiment and
cooperation Of the great body OF Virginia
Republicans, white and colored. Mean
while, however, there was still q mere hand
ful Of the old official ami place seeking Re
publIcaps who denounced this renaissance
OF Rprublicapism as a delusion aud snare,
and who, having no forces OF their own to
combat 1t, ermanently allied themselves
with the Bourbon Democracy--vauntiug
their own Republicanism all the more
loudly the more utterly they subserved all
the fraud, force, and outrage OF repression
and reaction. They advocated and voted
for the Infamous Anderson Me- Cormicls
election BILL. and they or their successors
are to day the pet mercenary contingent,
detailed for all treacherous attacks that
cannot be attempted openly in the Bour.
bon uniform and under the Bourbon ban
ner.
But the solid south was broken by the
new movement In Virginia. The reborn
Republican party went forth conquering
and to conquer, In spite Of foes without aud
followed rapidly by the successes of 1881
and 1889, In both Of which years the Bour-
Republicans sought to make diversions
by nominating or running tickets that II
was hoped would lessen the vote for the
liberal coalition and give the state back
| again to Bourbonism. In 1881, nevertheless,
so conscious were the leading Mugwumps
other declined to take the nomination for
| governor, and they could form no state
ticket, whereupon their very greatest m an
| (who this very year accepted Democratic
| nomination for the state senate), who form
erly was chairman Of the old Republican
state committee, actually Issued an address,
above bis signature, announcing his support
| calling on his friends to Join him
In that support! That amounted to moth
ing. Our state ticket was elected; and
when next year lin 1882 the same false or
misguided men put up alleged Independent
Republican candidates for Congress In every
| district OF the state and one for the state a,
large, we carried the state over the COM
biDed opposition. electing six out Of the
ten representatives., including our nomlnee
10 the state at large. The whole vote
polled by the Mugwumps In the state at
this laet.named election was only about
5000, their candidate, too, being colored
preacher, nominated or selected with the
view of srpealng to race feelings against
our white nominee.
Whereas our movement began ia 1870
With only a little over So 900 votes, in 1881
we polled over 1900; in 1888 l27,000,
and In 1884, over 142 900. In 1884 the Re-.
publican party OF Virginia, under Its present
Organization, formally identified Itself with
the national organization, Notwithstanding
tic snubs and cold shoulders II had received
from that organization and from the press
EtEeihUy euppUetu 10 'dhe ltS cue from Jne
latttr. Our delegation to the national
convention at Chicago was seated, In spite
OF bogus contesting delegation from the
bogus Republican allies OF the VirsinIa
Bourbons, and the convention welcomed IL
with enthusiastic applause. Under fair
count We carried the state for Blaine IN
I 1884, although the Democracy had wrested
II from us In 1888 by force, fraud, and ter
rorism-and although the ballots and
a nf
the Democratic party organization by the
infamous Anderson Met Cormick election
bill, through which the appointment Of all
registrars. judges and commissioners Of
elections, aud the control Of all regis'ra-
tions, elections, and returns are put exclu.
sively In the hands OF partisan electoral
boards, for all counties and cities, chosen
sary to tell you. sir, or your committee,
what iDjustices, wrongs, and frauds are
perpetrated under a scheme which has no
reason for being at all except for the per-
petration OF outrages on the popular will
and franchise; but, even under this statute
OF usurpation, tyranny, and perjury,
operated under the direction OF boss,
lack of oil scruples, we have never lost heart,
ard have never abandoned the field to the foe,
as was done In 1876. In the state election
Of 1885, even the fraudulent Bourbon re-
turns credited us with over 1876, 900 votes,
and we verify believe, on evidence direct
and indirect within our knowledge, that we
actually carried the state that year. Last
year, with the Bourbon boss irrltated by his
defeat for the United States Senate, aud
solaciDg himself 10 trip to Europe, cam,
paigD, wisely and skillfully devised by our
stale committee and energetically executed,
resulted In a victory for us, whereby We
secured six Republican members for the
House Of Representatives, one Labor d lm.
ocratic member,-leaviDg only three Demo-
cratic nominees alive on the iield-our
majority over the regular Democratic vote